Ranma 12: Emotions touching across time
by Ranma2
Summary: Ranma is given a shikon shard by his mother. He then finds himself in feudal japan, searching for a way back to his own time. RanmaKikyou
1. Ranma's first day at a new home

""Talking ''Thoughts  
  
In this fic Ranma is 16 about to turn 17 instead of being 18 after the fight with Saffron. Just for the record. Kagome is also 16 in this because some time has passed since the beginning of Inuyasha. And I am naming the school Kougaku high until I found out the real name of the school.  
  
I do not own Ranma ½ or Inuyasha.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ranma awoke as the suns rays beamed down onto his face. Ranma sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them. Looking at his alarm clock noticing that it was ten in the morning. He threw the covers off of himself and jumped out of the bed.then he stopped in mid step.  
  
'This is odd.' He thought to himself. 'I don't own a bed or an alarm clock.'  
  
"Ranma, are you awake yet? Breakfast is ready!" came a voice from down stairs.  
  
Then Ranma remembered everything. After the fight with Saffron and the failed wedding attempt, Ranma's mother _insisted_ on Ranma staying at her house for a while. She hasn't seen him in ten years. It was about time she made up for that. Of course Ranma's father didn't like it very much, but there was always that blasted Katana!  
  
"Yeah! I'll be right down!" Ranma yelled down happily. Now that the seppuku contract had been torn up, he didn't have to hide anymore. Not to mention that the bed had been comfortable.  
  
Ranma practically ran down the stairs and strait into his seat at the table. The table surprisingly had four chairs, even though Ranma and his mother Nodoka are the only ones living in the house. Genma, Ranma's father, isn't with them for one reason. Nodoka is mad at him for keeping Ranma away from her all this time.  
  
"Thanks for the food!" yelled Ranma as he inhaled his food.  
  
"Ranma! What have I told you about table manners? No one here will steal the food off your plate."  
  
"Umm.are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. I'm sure."  
  
Ranma then forced himself to stop eating as if this were his last meal and if he didn't eat it all in ten seconds it would be taken away. The rest of the meal was basically silent. No one said a word. When it was over Ranma put the plates and bowls in the sink and prepared for his first day at a new school. He could only hope that it wasn't like Furinken.  
  
Ranma was just about to walk out the door when his mother stopped him. She was holding up what looked to be a small broken piece of glass tied onto a string.  
  
"Ranma. I found this at an antique shop the other day. The man didn't know what it was called, but he said it could stop the affects of a curse, just as long as the cursed person wore it around his neck. I don't know if this will work, but."  
  
Ranma took the broken piece of glass on a string. He looked at it for a bit then put it around his neck.  
  
"I might as well try it. It couldn't hurt. Thanks!"  
  
"Your welcome, Ranma. Now button up your collar."  
  
" *Sigh* Okay." Ranma did as he was told then left out the door.  
  
Believe it or not, Nodoka had actually gotten Ranma to wear the school uniform. Though Ranma didn't like the uniform, due to the fact that it restricted his movement when in battle. He really didn't mind wearing it. He was excited to go to a normal school for a change, though he would never admit it.  
  
Ranma was pretty happy right about now.then it started to rain.  
  
"Aw crap!" Ranma checked himself, and found that he was still quite male. "Yeah! Never gonna be a girl again.when the.glass thing is on anyway."  
  
Ranma looked down and noticed that it was glowing. That would be a problem when going to his new school. So he just put it in his shirt. No one would see it and everything would be fine.  
  
Ranma finally arrived at the school and was now being introduced to the class. The teacher not seaming to care that he was soaking wet told him to tell the class about himself.  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome. I am the heir to the Saotome School of anything goes martial arts, and lived with my dad for ten years. I'm now living with my mother in Tokyo to get away from the stress of my usual life. I'm very pleased to meet you." Ranma said with a short bow after the last sentence. 'I hope Mom was right about being polite and stuff. I feel stupid acting like this.'  
  
"Very good Mr. Saotome. Please take the empty seat next to Ms. Higurasi."  
  
"Uh.okay." Ranma said, walking to his desk trying to ignore some of the girls that were staring at him. It was really making him nervous. Especially that Higurasi girl, her stare wasn't like the others. It was more like she knew something he didn't. Ranma sat down then turned to the girl.  
  
"Hi.nice to meet ya." Ranma said, trying to get the girl to stop staring at him.  
  
"Hi Ranma, I'm Kagome. It's nice to meet you too." Kagome then looked toward the front of the class. She was falling behind in school and she didn't want to miss any of the teachers lecture. 'I sense a shard. Does he have it?'  
  
'At least she's not staring at me anymore. I hope my old man didn't rip her family off.that would be bad.'  
  
The rest of the day went on like a usual school day does. Ranma falls asleep a lot. Classes go on, then its time for lunch. While Ranma was inhaling his food, a boy about his age decided to be friends with the new guy. It was just the right thing to do. So he walked over to introduce him self.  
  
"Hi Ranma, I'm Hojo. How are you doing today?"  
  
This caused Ranma to look up.after finishing his food of course. Nothing got in between him and his food.  
  
"I'm doin' okay. You?"  
  
"I'm doing just fine, thanks."  
  
"Uh.is there a reason why you're talking to me or something?"  
  
"Yeah. You're new here so I thought we could be friends." Hojo said holding out his hand for Ranma to shake.  
  
Now Ranma didn't really know Hojo all that well, but that could be over looked. They just met, and how do you become friends with someone anyway? Ranma stared at his hand for a few seconds then smiled before shaking his hand.  
  
"Yeah, that would be great. Friends."  
  
"Right. So, how do you like this town Ranma?"  
  
"It's okay. It's quiet."  
  
"Really. Sometimes it gets pretty noisy when cars drive by and stuff."  
  
"It's just that, where I lived got really hectic every now and again."  
  
"Oh. So you're a martial artist huh?"  
  
"Yep! The best there is.Literally." Ranma said with complete confidence. 'At least I'm pretty sure I am. Especially after Saffron.'  
  
"Really? I know some pretty strong martial artists Ranma?"  
  
"Yeah, but I bet those martial artists never went on a ten year training trip."  
  
"." Hojo brilliantly answered. "Your kidding right?"  
  
"Nope. Even swam to China."  
  
"Riiiiiiight."  
  
"I'm not kidding." Ranma deadpanned.  
  
"That is impossible." Hojo said. He was starting to think that Ranma was insane.  
  
" *Sigh* Just forget about what I just said."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Lunch eventually ended, and Ranma went to his next class. Again, Things went on as they normally do.in normal school anyway. This went on until P.E. This was the one subject Ranma excelled at. And today's sport was baseball. Ranma was in the outfield.  
  
Kagome and her friends were supposed to be playing volleyball but there were to many people. So they just sat and watched the boys base ball game. Kagome was kind of bored, but at least she had some time away from collecting the shards. Kind of like a small vacation.  
  
The game went on until Hojo hit the ball really high. Normally it would have been a home run, but Ranma wasn't about to let that happen. Especially when the bases were loaded. Ranma jumped up twenty feet and caught the ball; he then threw the ball to home plate causing most of the people running to get out. He then did a flip and landed on his feet, getting back where he was supposed to be. Then he noticed that everyone was staring at him.  
  
"Uh.what?"  
  
"You just did the impossible and your asking "What?" The coach yelled.  
  
"Oh, that? The ball wasn't all that high." Ranma said, remembering that this wasn't Nerima.  
  
"What do you mean it wasn't all that high? It was at least fifteen to twenty feet!"  
  
"._And_." Ranma answered. It wasn't that big of a deal.  
  
"Never mind."  
  
Everyone went on playing the game. Though everyone except for Ranma was a little shaken.  
  
"Did you see that Kagome! That was amazing! RANMA IS AWASOME!" Yuki yelled, bouncing up and down.  
  
"Yeah! And good looking.Right Kagome?" Natsumi said, a bit calmer than her friend.  
  
"Right, That was great." She said, laughing to her self. 'Now I know he's got a shard. I hope he's not going to be any trouble. I don't think he's a demon, but I know he's using the shard to become stronger. I'll talk to him after school. I'm sure he'll give it to me.'  
  
School has now ended, and though Ranma enjoyed the peace and quiet. School was still school. So he was happy it was time to go home, but he was stopped by Kagome when he was half way there.  
  
"Hey, Ranma can I talk to you for a sec.?"  
  
"Sure.My dad didn't rip your family off did he?"  
  
" *Blink blink* no."  
  
"Good. Okay, what did ya want?"  
  
"Um.can I have your shikon shard?" Kagome asked. 'Well, it's worth a shot.'  
  
"My what?"  
  
"You know, that thing around your neck." Kagome said pointing to wear it was under his shirt.  
  
"This piece of broken glass?" Ranma said taking it from wear it was so that it could be seen. "Wait a sec., how did you know it was there?"  
  
"Call it a hunch."  
  
"Well anyway. I'm going to keep it for a while. Right now I need it." Ranma said, walking off. He had a bad feeling about this. Especially when she started running after him.  
  
"Wait! I know that your using the shard to enhance your power but."  
  
"WAIT ONE SECOND!"  
  
"Okay." Kagome said, stopping mid sentence. She didn't expect him to yell like that.  
  
"I AM NOT USING THIS SHARD.THING, TO ENHACE MY POWER!"  
  
"But I saw you jump twenty feet!"  
  
" *Snort* I could do that before I got this shard."  
  
"What.that's impossible." 'He sounds just like Inuyasha. Stubborn jerk!'  
  
"That's what everyone seems to be saying today. Look. I don't know what this shard is. All I know is that it gets rid of a.problem I picked up in china. So far I haven't been able to find a cure for it. This shard is a temporary cure until I can find the real thing. If and when I find the cure, I'll give you the shard then."  
  
"What "problem" did you pick up in china? Maybe I can help."  
  
"Sorry. I'm not telling. No offense."  
  
"But I really need that shard." Kagome whined.  
  
"Why do you need it so bad?" Ranma said, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"That.I can't tell you.Sorry."  
  
"Well then. I can't give you the shard unless it's a good enough reason." Ranma said, walking off again.  
  
"Please.I really, really need it. I can't tell you why, but it is very important."  
  
"Sorry. It's not that I'm a jerk or anything, but.I hate my curse. Did you know that if it weren't for the fact that I had this shard around my neck, my curse would have been triggered when it rained this morning?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"My curse is water triggered. Not only that. I'm a water magnet because of my curse, so until I find a cure, I'm keeping it. See ya." Ranma said, walk off once again.  
  
Kagome was about to follow, but decided against it. Ranma wasn't evil, and she didn't need that particular shard yet. She didn't know why she pressed so hard. But for some reason, through out that whole conversation she wanted to yell sit, maybe because his personality seamed to match Inuyasha's almost perfectly. Oh well. It was about time she went home anyway.  
  
"I think that.I shouldn't tell Inuyasha about this shard. We don't need it until we collect the rest anyway. By then he should find a cure."  
  
Ranma ran home. Not because he was scared or mad. He ran because he was annoyed. He didn't know that the broken glass thing was some shikon shard. All he knew was that it kept his curse in check, and that's all he wanted right now.  
  
Ranma opened the door and slung his backpack onto the table and began to walk up the stairs to his room so that he could change to his regular clothes.  
  
"Ranma. How was your first day at Kougaku high?"  
  
"It was okay. A lot better than Furinken.I think I made a friend too. And an enemy I'm not sure."  
  
"Well introduce me to her then!"  
  
"Why would you want to meet my enemy?"  
  
"I mean your friend dear."  
  
"My friend is a guy.his name is Hojo."  
  
"Oh! I know him. He lives a few houses down. He's a nice boy but sometimes I don't think he's all there."  
  
"Yeah. I know what you mean. he was totally freaked when I told him that I swam to china."  
  
"Well that's very uncommon for a boy your age.or for anyone for that matter. You did defeat a phoenix god Ranma. Not many people can do that. I suggest you tune down your power a bit."  
  
"Okay. I keep forgetting that this isn't Nerima."  
  
"So who is your enemy?"  
  
"I'm not really sure if she's my enemy or not. She seemed ticked when I didn't give her the broken glass thingy. She said it was a shikon shard or something like that.anyway her name is Kagome Higurasi."  
  
"I know her also. She's a friend of the family."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, She lives at the Sunset shrine, along with her brother Sota, mother, and grandfather."  
  
"Oh.Then I hope she's not mad at me."  
  
"I don't think she is. She really is a good girl. Though she has been sick lately. Maybe we should go visit her."  
  
"Right.she seemed pretty healthy to me. Oh well. I guess it couldn't hurt to visit her. She did seem nice enough. I'm not engaged to her am I?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Anyway. You should get dressed out of your uniform. Knowing you it will get torn if you wear it for too long."  
  
"Your probably right." Ranma said, heading up the stairs to change into his regular red Chinese shirt and dark green pants.  
  
"Might as well put this uniform back in the wardrobe." Ranma said, opening the wooden wardrobe that was in his room. Right when he was about to hang up the uniform he tripped and fell into the wardrobe. The shikon shard glowed for an instant the returned back to normal.  
  
"Ouch." Ranma said, rubbing his head. "Hey, this isn't my room.Great! Why does this always happen to me!"  
  
Ranma was now in what seemed to be a one-room house, and the door seemed to be made of straw. Not to mention that there was fire wood in the middle of the room that looked like it had been set on fire recently but put out.  
  
"Toto, I don't think were in Tokyo anymore."  
  
"Who are you?" a short old woman wearing the traditional Shinto garb demanded as she walked into her home.  
  
"Uh.I know this is going to sound really weird, but one minute I was in my house.and the next thing I knew I was here."  
  
"You wouldn't happen to come out of a well would ye?"  
  
"Nope. I came out of the wardrobe."  
  
"It makes sense. Like the well, the wardrobe was made out of the wood from the time tree, but to travel between times you would need a great deal of power and a shikon jewel fragment."  
  
"Like this one?" Ranma said, holding up his shard.  
  
".Yes. So you are from the future."  
  
"Yes.does this happen often?"  
  
"No. But my sister reincarnation travels between the two time lines through the bone eaters well."  
  
".Right."  
  
"It is a long story. There must be a reason you are here." 'He reminds me of Inuyasha, but he can't be his reincarnation. Inuyasha is not dead. Odd."  
  
"I just fell through the wardrobe that's all! *Crash* what was that?"  
  
"It be a demon! And without Inuyasha here we are in deep trouble."  
  
"Ya got me! That's better than an Inuyasha or whatever."  
  
"But you are human. What can you *crash* do?"  
  
"That doesn't matter right now!" Ranma said, running out of the small house.  
  
Sure enough, there was a demon. It looked like a snake with arms and a human head. It was kind of freaky really.  
  
" *Sigh* I could have done this in Nerima. Hey Ugly!" Ranma said, causing the demon to turn towards Ranma.  
  
"You, have a shikon shard.Human, give it to me!" It said lunging towards Ranma.  
  
It was surprisingly fast, and it took Ranma off guard. It didn't hit him though, but it did knock the shard off his neck when he dodged the blow. A wasp demon then picked it up and carried it off. Ranma tried to follow, but was stopped by the snake demon.  
  
"Where do you think you are going human?"  
  
"Get out of my way.never mind, the dumb things too far away now!"  
  
Ranma jumped up in the air cupping his hands. He then fired one huge Mouko-takabisha. The snake demon tried to dodge but was disintegrated before he could move. Ranma then landed silently on his feet.  
  
"Stupid jerk. Now what am I gonna do about my curse?"  
  
"Young man. You wouldn't happen to be half demon would ye?"  
  
"No.I'm human."  
  
"How were you able to do that?"  
  
"I just trained for it. That demon was actually kind of weak, fast though."  
  
"Well, I would like to thank you. I am Kaede, and this is our village."  
  
"That's nice and all, but I would really like to go home. So I'll just go back through the wardrobe and."  
  
"I'm afraid that, that is impossible."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You need a fragment of the shikon jewel to travel between the times."  
  
"Oh. You wouldn't happen to have one laying around would ya?"  
  
"No, they are scattered around this world. Unless you can find one, you're stuck here."  
  
"Um, do you think you could give me some supplies so that I can search for one?"  
  
"I don't mind at all, but you really should stay the night. It is getting dark out, and demons come out in the dark."  
  
"Lucky me. Well, thanks."  
  
"Your welcome. It be the least I can do, for someone who saved our village while Inuyasha be away."  
  
"Right. Why do you talk like that?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
A few miles away, the wasp dropped the shard it stole from Ranma in the hand of a man dressed in white ape fur. He pocketed the item then turned around to go back to his castle.  
  
"So, a human who can slay demons with his bare hands. Interesting indeed." The figure then disappeared into nothingness. This man was no man, but the demon Naraku. 


	2. Ranma's first day searching for the shar...

Chapter 2  
  
Ranma was now on the rode to find a shard. If anyone would ask him how he felt about the situation, his answer would be that it was annoying, but deep down, he didn't mind. He liked living with his mother and he liked the quiet life away from Nerima. Even though it was only one day.  
  
Ranma liked traveling. He was getting cabin fever at the Tendo dojo, and he was sure that he would eventually get it at his mother's house as well. That was just it really. It was the TENDO dojo and his MOTHER'S house. It wasn't his dojo, and it wasn't his house. He just lived there. It wasn't really his home. Just a place he could stay at until he decided to move on. So this was a welcome change. Ranma doubted that there were any beings as strong as Saffron here, so this should be a nice little training trip before returning to his mothers house.  
  
Actually Ranma was whistling right now, though it was very out of tune. The fresh air was very welcome to him. He hadn't breathed in fresh air like this since the ten-year training trip. The city was always full of smoke or something. Whether or not the people actually noticed it or not were a different story. So with the sack filled with the few supplies he had on his back, he traveled on.  
  
Ranma did come across a few demons, however he did not even need to throw his sack off his shoulder. They were so weak that he only needed one hand, or he would just use his feet. This went on for a while until it reached nightfall, and Ranma set up camp.  
  
"Oh well, I guess that I shouldn't expect to find a shard on my first day. Kaede said that if I find a demon that is particularly strong or one that keeps regenerating, that it most likely has a shard. I haven't come across any of those." Ranma said getting ready to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day.  
  
Yes. Ranma was having the time of his life. For once he was on his own. Even if it was only until he found a shard. No stupid old man to get him in trouble, no fiancé's glomping, flirting, or pounding him, no stupid old perverts or ghouls, and most of all, no one trying to kill him, personally anyway. Demons don't count. To bad it was only until he found a shard.  
  
'I wonder if that Kagome girl came here, and that's why she's looking for the shards. probably not, she's probably just collecting them for a hobby or something.'  
  
Ranma began to sleep. Something else that was very welcome. Ranma hasn't had a good night's sleep in a long time. Mostly because of the random challengers and fiancé's. Even the night before he hadn't slept well. He had stayed up all night talking to his mother.  
  
Ranma slept until eight in the morning before waking up. He was in the woods so the sun wasn't beaming down on his face like it usually did. Which was always good in his book. Ranma walked along the path he had been following earlier. He finally came across a small village. In this village he saw a few kids playing while an old woman watched over them. This was feudal Japan after all, and demons seemed to be everywhere. So he walked up to the old woman to ask for some information and maybe a little food.  
  
"Excuse me ma'am." Ranma said, while bowing. Again, Ranma used his mother's advice to be polite. And if this old woman were anything like Cologne, he would have some bumps on his head if he weren't.  
  
"Hello stranger. What do ye want from me?"  
  
"I am traveling to find a certain.item, and was hoping that I could rest in this village for a few hours and maybe get some food before I continue on my journey." 'Man, it's weird talking like this!'  
  
"I would not mind at all. Would you please watch the children while I prepare a meal."  
  
"Thank you for you kindness." Ranma, said while bowing.  
  
The old woman walked away to one of the houses in the village. Ranma sat down under a tree and watched the kids. It was the least he could do after asking them for food. One of the more curious kids of the group came up to him to see who he was. Not much action happened in that little village.  
  
"Hello." The kid said, trying to get his attention.  
  
"Hi kid."  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Ranma, what's yours?"  
  
"I'm Jinta! Are you strong? Do ya know magic or anything?" The kid asked with a glint in his eye. By now all the kids that were playing were crowded around Ranma.  
  
'*Sigh* this is going to be a long day.' "Yes, I'm strong, but I don't know magic."  
  
"Really? The last guy that came to this town knew magic. He could do all sorts of things!"  
  
"Really? Like what?" Ranma asked. Not that he was interested. He just didn't know how to answer the kid.  
  
"He could make things come out of know where. Like swords and stuff."  
  
"Really? I know a guy who can do that."  
  
"He could pull chains and swords and stuff out of his sleeves."  
  
"That's neat!" Jinta yelled.  
  
"Mr. Ranma? Can you tell us about your adventures and stuff?" one of the little girls in the group asked.  
  
"What makes you think I've been on an adventure?"  
  
"You told my grandmother that you were on a journey, so I thought that you went on adventures and neat stuff like that." She said, while looking at the ground and shuffling her feet.  
  
"Okay. How about I tell you about the time I fought Toma the prince of the Illusionary Island Togenkyo."  
  
"NEAT! But what's an illusion?"  
  
"An illusion is kind of like magic. It makes you think your seeing something that really isn't there."  
  
"That is so awesome! What happened?"  
  
About half an hour later.  
  
"So I kicked Toma's butt so bad he started to run away. Once I saw through his illusions he was really no match."  
  
"That coward!"  
  
"Yeah. And he took Akane with him too."  
  
"What did you do Ranma?" One of the girls, who thought the whole fighting for the girl thing, was romantic.  
  
I chased after him of course! But somehow during the chase Akane began to fall into the water that would turn her into a man forever."  
  
"Oh, no!"  
  
"Oh, yes. So I jumped in after her."  
  
"How did you stop her from falling in."  
  
"I blew it up with my Mouko-takabisha!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's an energy blast."  
  
"What? Only demons can do that kind of thing. That's impossible!" One of the so-called, cool kids of the group yelled.  
  
"Wanna see me do one?"  
  
"Yeah!" Jinta yelled.  
  
"Watch." Ranma said cupping his hands at his side, while taking a horse stance. "Don't blink. MOUKO-TAKABISHA!" Ranma yelled. Thrusting his hands to the sky. A giant ball of yellow ki erupted from his hands and shot off into the sky, who knows when the thing actually died-down. Luckily every one was inside their homes, or Ranma might have been thrown out of town for being a demon.  
  
"WOW! Can you teach me how to do that?!" Were the collective replies of most of the children. the ones that could talk anyway.  
  
"Sorry. It takes years of training to be able to do this. I can't stay that long."  
  
"Aw, man! I want to go on adventures and stuff like that too!"  
  
"Yeah I'm cool." Ranma said, while giving the victory sign.  
  
After that, the old woman came out to get Ranma. The food was prepared and Ranma was hungry. I bet your wondering why someone would go through all the trouble to make all that food for a stranger. The answer is simple. She was watching those children all morning and needed a break. She was grateful to the stranger who had kept the children busy with make believe stories. Magic islands. That was a good one.  
  
"Thanks for the food. I really must get going now." Ranma said, picking up his sack.  
  
"Aw.can't you stay a little longer? I want to here more about your adventures." One of the children begged.  
  
"Sorry, but I really need to get going. Maybe, if I come back to this town later on."  
  
"Okay. Bye Ranma!" Jinta yelled.  
  
As Ranma walked away from the town, the children that he baby-sat waved goodbye. They were just children after all.  
  
"Well, isn't he popular?" The old woman said.  
  
Ranma walked down the path until he came to a clearing. He sat his sleeping bag down next to a bush, and started to set up camp. Ranma practiced for about an hour. He didn't want his skills to go down after all. After going through a few forms and meditation exercises, Ranma got ready for bed.  
  
"Today was interesting. Those kids were nice and all, but I just don't know how to deal with them. Anyway, I'm tired and I'm going to bed."  
  
Ranma was woken up by a rustling noise. Usually this wouldn't wake Ranma up, but his danger senses were going off like crazy. He looked up from where he lay and saw nothing. Of course he saw nothing. There was a bush in his way. So he got up and looked over the bush. There he had seen the most beautiful girl Ranma had ever seen in his opinion. She looked to be about seventeen and had long black hair tied back with a white ribbon, and she too, like the old woman Kaede, wore the traditional Shinto garb. Ranma failed to notice the snake like demons floating around her where ever she went, but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the eight-foot demon that was closing in on her. Though it wasn't fast, it looked strong, strong enough to tear the girl limb from limb.  
  
Ranma jumped up from where he was and began to pounce on the demon. Began, he never got to finish. The girl lifted up her hand and it started to glow a strange light. The next thing Ranma knew, the monster had been disintegrated. So Ranma just stood there with a dumb look on his face. That wasn't ki. Actually, he couldn't sense any ki from the girl. Then she looked at him as if she noticed him for the first time. Her brown eyes seemed to look through his soul. Then she began to walk away.  
  
"Wait!" Ranma yelled, hoping that she wouldn't leave. The girl turned around and stared at him for a few seconds. Ranma noticed that she seemed to have an expressionless face, but even though she showed no emotion. She looked sad in a way.  
  
"Wha.What's your name?" Ranma asked, not really sure why he asked her to wait.  
  
"My name.is Kikyou." She said, and then turned around to walk away once more. Ranma rolled up camp then grabbed his sack to chase after her.  
  
"Wait a sec.!"  
  
"What do you want?" She said. She was obviously getting annoyed, even though she didn't show it.  
  
"Uh." Ranma said, intelligently.  
  
"If you have nothing to say, I will be going now."  
  
"Wait a sec. I know that you don't really know me or anything, but I was wondering how you did that."  
  
"You mean, when I killed the demon?"  
  
"Yeah. It wasn't ki, and I've never seen anything like it."  
  
"I am a priestess. I have a great deal of power stored away. That was just a small portion of it. Now I must get going."  
  
'Man, it's like talking to a brick wall. She's completely emotionless.' "Uh, I know this seems kind of forward and all, but maybe we should travel with each other."  
  
"And why is that?" Kikyou asked.  
  
"I don't know. For starters, I want to know why you don't have any ki.At all. Oh yeah, and I'm looking for this thing called a shikon shard, and."  
  
"You are looking for a shard from the sacred jewel?"  
  
"Yeah, you know about it?"  
  
"You should give up on your search. The jewel only brings suffering and hatred."  
  
"But, I kind of need the jewel to get back home. You see, I'm from the future and."  
  
"You came from the well."  
  
"No.the wardrobe, but."  
  
"But you need a jewel shard to travel between the two times."  
  
"Yeah, how did you know?"  
  
"I guarded the jewel once. A long time ago."  
  
"Oh.so do you have a shard I could use then?"  
  
"No. The jewel was stolen from me, and then later on it was shattered. I do not have any of the fragments of the jewel."  
  
"Oh. wait a second. What are these glowy, floating, snake thingies?"  
  
"They are soul collectors."  
  
"Oh. Why do they follow you? That one looks like it's going to bite my head off."  
  
"They belong to me.and it sees you as a threat to me, so it is on guard."  
  
"Oh, I see. Well I'm not really a threat, so can you call it off.or something."  
  
"Yes." She lifted her hand, and then the soul collector backed away from Ranma.  
  
"So.uh. about us traveling together?"  
  
"You can follow me if you want, I could care less either way."  
  
"Okay! And my names Ranma." 'Maybe I can get her to have a regular conversation.or not.' 


	3. Weaknesses revealed

                                                                                    Chapter 3

*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked through the floor. 

*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked through the wall.

*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked into the back yard.

*SLA…Catch? *

 Ranma held the mallet above his head and tore it from the attackers hands. He then threw it to the side of the room.

"Quit it, ya stupid tomboy! I can't believe your still hitting me with that stupid mallet!" Ranma yelled, a little on edge due to the events that have been going on around him.

"What did you just call me?" The would-be attacker asked. Mostly out of habit.

"Listen Akane! Would ya stop? I don't even know why you're hitting me anymore!"

"Don't say it like you don't know!" Akane yelled back.

"Don't know what? I was just sitting here!"

"Fine! Be that way!" Akane walked away in a huff, and Ranma was left to his thoughts. A few minutes later Ranma heard the front door slide open.

"Hello Auntie Saotome! What a surprise!" Came the kind voice of the eldest Tendo sister.

"Hello Kasumi. Is Ranma in? I would like to have a word with him."

'_This memory…it happened a few days ago._'

"Yes, Auntie! He's in the back next to the koi pond."

"Thank you, dear."

'_This is when mom asked me how I felt about living with her for a while._'

            Ranma heard his mother's footsteps enter the back yard. She then sat down next to him for a few minutes before saying a word.

"Nice day isn't it?"

"It's okay I guess." Ranma said, still mad due to current events.

"What's wrong? Another fight with Akane, or was it that Hibiki boy again?"

"Akane…" Ranma said, letting the sentence hang there. There was really nothing to say.

"…Ranma. I have a question for you." Nodoka said, not sure on how to talk to her son when he's in a bad mood.

"What is it?" Ranma asked, resting his chin on his hand.

"How would you feel about moving away from the Tendo dojo and living with me? Just the two of us."

"What about pops?" Ranma asked, looking up. The question seemed to upset Nodoka.

"He will be staying at the Tendo dojo. He has had you for ten years. It's my turn to be a part in your life. How about it?"

"I…" Ranma hesitated, not sure on how to answer.

"I…would love to come live with you." Ranma said, standing up from his position on the ground.

"Really?"

"Yeah…that would be great." Ranma said, staring at seemingly nothing.

"Great! I'll inform the Tendo's. Your father and I already talked about it."

'_With your sword I'm sure. He wouldn't just give up on me that easily. I know him._'

The scene changes and Ranma is seen, falling through the wardrobe. And a startled Kaede enters her home. Some time passes and crash is heard. Ranma runs out side to see a snake like creature with a woman in its arms.

'_That's not how it happened._'

            The snake like creature turns around and looks at Ranma, revealing that the woman in his arms is Nodoka Saotome. The demon wraps its tail around her and starts to squeeze. Ranma watches helplessly as his mother is being squeezed to death. He tries to run to help her, but he can't move.

"MOM!"

'_This can't be happening!_'

"Let her go!"

'_Yes! Let her go!'_

            The creature smiles and tightens its tail around the woman one last time, and a sickening crunching sound is heard.

"NO!"

'_No! This can't be! This isn't what happened! Moms back at my own time! What's going on? No…No…'_

"NOOOOOOO!" Ranma screamed, sitting up from where he was resting. Then quickly shut his eyes as the suns rays beat down on them.

'Just a dream?'

"You're finally up." Kikyou said walking over to where Ranma was.

"Huh?" Ranma said, wondering what was going on. Then the memories of last night filled his head. He had traveled with Kikyou until coming to this town. They would be aloud to rest there as long as they liked as long as Ranma and Kikyou helped take care of the ill. There was a sickness going around the area and many of the children were bedridden.

"It is almost noon Ranma. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up." Kikyou said, in a superior tone.

"You could have woken me up." Ranma said, not liking the fact that he was getting yelled at…almost yelled at…talked to harshly. Yeah. That would describe the way Kikyou was talking to him.

"I tried."

"Oh."

"You can watch over the children, right? I need to find some herbs for making medicine." Kikyou asked, skeptically. 

"Yeah! I'll just tell them about the time I beat Toma, the prince of the Illusionary Island Togenkyo."

"Who?" Kikyou asked, not remembering an Island called Togenkyo.

"He's a…never mind. It happened in the future."

"I see." Kikyou said, while walking away, stopping to pick up a basket that was sitting next to where Ranma was sleeping.

"May I use this?"

"Sure."

"Thank you." Kikyou said, then walked away once again.

"I almost had a real conversation with her…almost." Ranma said, drooping his head a little.

'But what about that dream? Best not to think about it.'

            Kikyou walked down the dirt path looking for herbs, sometimes stopping to put a few in her basket. Usually when she picked herbs or anything work related, she would think of Inuyasha. The one she loved with all her heart, yet hated with every inch of her being. Today, however, was different. She tried to think of Inuyasha. She really did. It was what kept her going, that and the souls that her soul collectors found for her. And hatred…pain…sorrow, but mostly Inuyasha.

            But for some reason, she could not think of Inuyasha. Today her mind was now on Ranma. She didn't know what to make of him. In her honest opinion, she thought he was quite annoying. He kept talking to her, trying to get a conversation going, even though she ignored him the whole time. Yet they still traveled together. Well, more like she walked and he followed her around and talked at her. That's one of the reasons she stopped in the village. She thought that he might shut up if he fell asleep. She was right, of course. She sometimes even contemplated on whether or not she should just kill him. But that wouldn't be right, and there was just something about the boy that she couldn't place her finger on.

'He came from Kagome's time. I wonder if she's around as well.'

            She picked up one last herb and started to walk back to the village, but stopped. She sat down and stretched a little bit, then looked off into the distance.

'I haven't done this in a while. Not since before I …died.'

            She lied down in the grass and closed her eyes. She could feel the slight wind blow, and could hear the grass move around her.

'I am getting tired. I will need more souls soon. I'll call the soul collectors to gather more after we leave the village.'

"*Sigh* Time to get going." She said to herself, before beginning to walk off.

"Stop right there!" A man with a sword yelled, causing Kikyou to stop mid step. She turned to see that there were at least eight armed men all together circling around her.

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" Kikyou asked. Mostly to humor them.

"Well yes, there is actually." The leader of the group said with a grin.

"And what is it that I can do for you?" Kikyou said, while bowing.

"Well, you see, I am quite insane, and I can't stand pretty girls, due to a trauma I had when I was little." The man said, his grin turning more vicious every second.

"And…"

"I want to kill you. No offense or anything, nothing-personal…wait, it is personal. Oh well, who cares? It was very nice meeting you." 

            The men rushed towards Kikyou, swords raised. Then a light erupted from her body and killed all eight men. All that was left were the clouds of ashes that fell to her feet.

"It was very nice meeting you too." Kikyou said, before heading off to the town with her basket full of herbs.

In the cabin where they quarantined the sick.

"…So Toma lived! That blows! What kind of story is that?" Screamed one of the children who have been listening to Ranma's story intently.

"Well. He really wasn't all that bad. He gave up on all the girls after I completely beat him in every way possible."

"But still! What kind of ending is that? You're supposed to kill the bad guy!"

"Shut up, Yasaburo! It's romantic." One of the village girls yelled at the boy.

"Not really. Akane elbowed me in the gut when I tried telling him it was a wise choice to give up on her." Ranma said, remembering the experience. 

            Kikyou chose this time to walk into the cabin. Which caused all the kids (that weren't too sick) to jump up and rush towards her. Which caused her to trip and drop the basket…fling the basket actually. However, Ranma caught her with one arm and caught the basket in the other.

"Thank you…" Kikyou wasn't used to tripping. She would have blushed if she didn't have tight control over her emotions.

"Your welcome." Ranma said, smiling.

"Kikyou, your back! Do you have any stories for us? His started out really good, but he had a weak finish." Yasaburo said, jerking his thumb at Ranma, who was _so_ close to strangling that kid.

"Yes, I do. They will have to wait until after you get some rest though. The medicine that I have made will make you sleepy." Kikyou said, in a tired tone. This did not go unnoticed by Ranma.

"You okay Kikyou? You don't look so good." Ranma said, with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while that's all."

"If you say so…" Ranma said, not exactly sure on how to respond to what she had just said. It's not like he could tell her what to do, and Ranma was sure that Kikyou was a little older than him anyway, and wouldn't listen to him.

"Okay. Line up children. You all need to take this if you are going to get any better."

"Ack! Do we have to? It smells horrible!" one of the children complained 

"Sasuke, if you don't take it you might never get better." Kikyou said in a kind tone.

"Aw, okay." Sasuke said, kicking at the ground.

"You know all their names?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. Don't you?" Kikyou asked, wondering why she wouldn't know all of their names.

"No…not all of them." Ranma said, slightly embarrassed.

'She seems emotionless, yet she's nice to the children and memorizes their names. Maybe she just doesn't like me…' Ranma thought, as he suddenly found the floor interesting.

"What is wrong?" Kikyou asked.

"Nothing…just thinking." Ranma said, snapping back to reality.

"Okay…"

Ranma left the cabin because he didn't want to get in Kikyou's way. That was one of the things Ranma hated actually. He hated being in people's way. When he was little, he used to think that he was in his father's way. That's why he trained so hard to become strong, so that he could help his father set up camp, and cut the firewood. If he was in some ones way, if he was useless at a certain situation, he felt weak. If Ranma was weak, then all of his training was for nothing. He would have wasted his life for nothing. He would be worthless. If he ever got beaten by anyone, and couldn't win afterwards at all, he would be worthless. Ranma remembered back to the time when his rival Ryoga, first learned the sister attack of the Mouko-takabisha, the Shishi-hokodan. 

_"So… Learned a New Technique, eh?" Ranma asked, still waiting for him to show up for a duel for ten days._

_"Well, I can't be certain yet… would you mind if I test it on you?" Ryoga asked, dropping his backpack and umbrella too the side.  _

_ "Well if you must…lets see it!" Ranma yelled as he rushed Ryoga._

_"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled as a green blast was sent towards Ranma, imbedding him into a concrete fence. Ranma got up and dusted himself off._

_"Not half bad. You got lucky that time!" Ranma yelled, rushing forward again._

_"If you insist. I'll use you for practice!" Ryoga said getting into a stance._

_"Oh yeah?!" Ranma yelled, closing in on Ryoga._

_"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled, Sending Ranma flying once more. Causing Ranma to fall in defeat for the very first time against Ryoga._

'I was so weak…I hated my self and Ryoga. My self for being weak, and Ryoga for making me weak…I beat him though!'

_"Its over." Ryoga said at the battle they had a few weeks later._

_"We're…just getting started…" Ranma said while he picked his battered body off the ground. "Go ahead. Try that again…"_

_"Don't give up do you?" Ryoga asked. It was more of a statement than it was a question._

_'If I'm right about this…I can still win. Here goes nothing!'_

"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled as a pillar of ki erupted from Ryoga's body, then started to fall.

_'Now!'_

_"Hey, I can see Akane's underwear!" Ranma yelled, while pointing in Akane's direction.  _

_            This snapped Ryoga out of the trance caused by the Shishi-hokodan, and they were both hit by the heavy ki blast._

'After I found his weakness it was easy to take him down…though it did hurt a lot.'

            By the time Kikyou was done treating everyone who was sick, it was late out, so she and Ranma decided to go to bed. Ranma fell asleep like a log. Kikyou stayed up thinking about what she was going to do with the extra baggage that she had acquired. She came to the conclusion that letting Ranma tag along wouldn't be so bad if he helped her out when she needed it. Of course, she would most likely do all the fighting, but it was nice taking her time gathering the herbs, and the children seemed to like Ranma. It couldn't hurt letting him tag along.

            She was broken out of her thoughts however, when she heard a crashing sound out side. That, and some people screaming in terror lead her to believe that there was a demon outside. She would have to take care of that. She just hoped that she had enough souls left in her to win the fight. She looked over to Ranma who was still sleeping like a baby.

"*Sigh* should have known." Kikyou said, shaking her head.

            She got up and left the cabin she and Ranma were using for the night. The demon was very large. Taller then the cabins, and was very muscular…big teeth too. It then looked at her with murderous intent.

'This…is bad.'

            The demon charged at her at full speed. Not having arrows ready because her bow broke a month back she had to use her body to channel her energy. This drains her faster. She shot her hands forward and a white blast erupted from her hands. It struck the demon and pushed it back, but was not able to kill the beast. It stopped for a moment and scratched itself where the blast had hit. It laughed for a few seconds then charged again. Again Kikyou shot off another blast of energy at the demon. Again the demon was pushed back, just not as far as last time. Again and again she tried, then she lost all energy and fell.

'Oh no.'

            Ranma then woke from his slumber and his eyes snapped open. He bolted strait up from where he lay.

"Kikyou!"

To be continued

AN: CLIFF HANGER

The fight between Ryoga and Ranma is from volume 18 of the graphic novel series Produced by Viz Comics©

I am responding to this review.
    
    "From: Jace()
    
    Hey, Kagome is a Chuugakusanensei, or third year middle school student during the Inuyasha series, so she is not in high school (School in Japan has a 3 year junior high and a three year high school)."

In the first chapter before the fanfic, I said that it takes place a year or so after Inuyasha starts. In the first issue of Inuyasha, Kagome turns 15. A year or so later she is 16. Ranma is 16 going on 17. So they would be in the same class...

Just thought I'd clear up the confusion.

Preread ViciousViperius

(ViciousViperius@Hotmail.com)(duh) 


	4. Traveling companion accepted

 Chapter 4

The demon charged at her at full speed. Not having arrows ready because her bow broke a month back she had to use her body to channel her energy. This drains her faster. She shot her hands forward and a white blast erupted from her hands. It struck the demon and pushed it back, but was not able to kill the beast. It stopped for a moment and scratched itself where the blast had hit. It laughed for a few seconds then charged again. Again Kikyou shot off another blast of energy at the demon. Again the demon was pushed back, just not as far as last time. Again and again she tried, then she lost all energy and fell.

'Oh no.'

            Ranma then woke from his slumber and his eyes snapped open. He bolted strait up from where he lay.

"Kikyou!"

            Ranma rushed out the door as fast as possible and was greeted by the sight of Kikyou, on the ground, being charged by a rather large demon. The demon was smiling a toothy grin, knowing that the fight was his, and soon he could rampage all he wanted.

            The demon rushed in at full speed, closing in on Kikyou. He may be big, which limited his movement, but he wasn't slow. Closer and closer the demon came. He was now a few feet away from the priestess Kikyou. Now a few inches, and now… she was gone? The demon started to frantically look for its target. It found her a few yards behind him, in the arms of the pigtailed youth, Ranma.

            Ranma set Kikyou on the ground. He found that she was still alive, but was unconscious for some reason. Ranma noticed that there wasn't a bruise or scratch on her, and couldn't come up with a reason as to why she would be unconscious. He did how ever take notice of the demon that was now screaming its head off. Ranma got up and faced his opponent. He felt no remorse for demons that killed for fun, and this one was going to pay.

"Hey! Why is she unconscious?" Ranma demanded from the demon.

"She used up too much energy… She was quite weak before hand. Now stand aside and let me have my fun." The demon said with a grin. It really didn't know how big of a mistake he was making. Sad, really."

"Shut up! Ya gotta get through me first!" Ranma said, taking a defensive fighting stance.

"Gladly." The demon said, before rushing Ranma.

            Ranma waited until the demon got to about a foot in front of him, before jumping up and kicking the thing across the right side face, knocking him a few feet to the left. The demon picked him self up off the ground and rubbed his right cheek.

"Human! You'll pay for that!" The demon said while rushing him. (Once again. He really is quite stupid)

"Idiot."

            Ranma found an opening and haled down a fury of punches to the demons gut. Then after five seconds of beating, Ranma stopped and backed off. The demon doubled over and threw up everything it had for lunch that day. The demon was then disintegrated by Ranma's Mouko-takabisha. 

            Seeing that the demon had, in fact been reduced to ashes, Ranma walked back to where he put Kikyou. He picked her up and carried her back to the cabin they were staying in. He hoped that Kikyou's energy was like ki, and would comeback after a while. He noticed that her body was cold, as if she were dead, that no warmth except for her breath was being emitted from her.

'That's weird. I hope that's just a side affect of the techniques that she uses.'

            Ranma stayed up to watch over her as long as he could, but soon found him self drifting into sleep. After everyone in the village were inside their homes, (The ones that were still intact anyway.) and sound asleep, Kikyou's soul collectors came through an opened window and gave Kikyou what was needed for her to continue living in this world. This went unnoticed by everyone in the village. Even Ranma.

            The next day Kikyou was the one who woke up to the sun beaming down on her face. She quickly shut her eyes and put up her hands to block the sun's rays. She waited a few seconds for her eyes to get used to the light then slowly dropped her hands. She noticed that her soul collectors must have paid her a visit that night, or she would not be awake right now. Then realization dawned on Kikyou's face, of the events that happened the night before. That was when one of the village doctors entered the small cabin to check on Kikyou.

"So, your awake! You had us all worried, especially that friend of yours." The doctor said, glad that she wasn't in a coma or anything.

"Tell me. What happened to the demon that attacked last night?" Kikyou asked, her face showing no emotion.

"That friend of yours killed it…Ranma I think his name was." The doctor said, rubbing his chin as if he were in deep thought. Kikyou's eyes widened briefly at this revelation.

"How could he have killed the demon? He is just a regular boy." Kikyou asked, confused as to how the boy who she had found so annoying could be powerful enough to kill a demon. 

"I think he might be a little more than regular. He beat the thing to a pulp then killed it with a weird yellow light that came from his hands. There are rumors going around that he might be a demon, in human guise." The doctor said with a strait face.

"That can't be. Ranma is a regular human…but if he were strong enough to kill a demon…" Kikyou said, while going into deep thought.

"You two must be great friends for what he did though. Not only did he save your life. He also watched over you almost all night. He fell unconscious eventually."

"We just met two days ago." Kikyou said, correcting the man.

'Why would he risk his life to save me? And why would he watch over me? We don't know each other at all.'

"Really? Then Ranma's must be one special person. Not many people would do what he did."

"True. Perhaps I should thank him." Kikyou said, still wondering why Ranma would go through the trouble of saving her, and how he survived. "Where is he now?"

"He's in the cabin with the children in it. They've been asking him to tell the story on how he "killed the evil demon and rescued the beautiful priestess" all day. Sad though…for the children anyway."

"Why is that?" Kikyou asked.

"He killed the demon in less than a minute… there really isn't all that much to tell."

"Then why do they want to here it so much?" Kikyou asked. The doctor smiled.

"Simple. It changes every time he tells it."

"Oh." Kikyou said, not sure what the doctor meant by that.

            Kikyou then left the cabin, much to the doctor's protest, to go find Ranma.

"…And I jumped twenty feet in the air doing ten flips on my way down on top of the demon's head."

"I thought you said that the demon had a horn on its head." One of the children said, starting to catch on to Ranma's bragging.

"It broke off when it rammed into the tree."

"Which tree?"

"The one out side. Now shut up and listen to the story!" Ranma yelled. it was hard being the cool guy.

            This is when Kikyou entered the room. She over heard that part of the conversation, and began to realize what the doctor meant when he said the story changes every time.

"The demon didn't have a horn." Kikyou said, standing next to the doorway.

"Kikyou, your awake! That's great. You slept longer than I did!" Ranma said, standing up from his official story telling chair.

"Is it that late?" Kikyou asked.

"Yeah. I thought you would never wake up. You must have exhausted more of your energy than I thought." Ranma said, shaking his head up and down.

"May I talk to you for a minute? There are things…I want to say." Kikyou asked, trying to word her sentences carefully.

"­­_Now­_ you want to talk to me?" Ranma asked, sarcastically. Kikyou nodded, ignoring the sarcasm. 

"Sure." Ranma said, Following Kikyou outside of the cabin.

            Kikyou lead Ranma to where she had been searching for herbs the other day. This was the only place they could really talk in private.

"What do ya want?" Ranma asked, genuinely curious.

"First off, I would like to thank you. I would have been killed if it weren't for you." Kikyou said, giving Ranma a deep bow.

"Aw, that's nothing. I would have done it for anybody." Ranma said, smiling. He was happy he was finally talking with her and not at her for a change.

"Now I have a few questions."

"What are they?" Ranma asked. Kikyou took in a deep breath.

"Are you a demon?"

"Nope." Ranma said, tilting his head to one side. He didn't know where that came from.

'Good.'

"Half-demon?" Kikyou asked.

"No, I am one hundred percent human." Ranma replied, answering Kikyou's next question of "What are you then", without even realizing it.

"Then how did you beat the demon? There are very few humans I know of, that can even fight demons, and they use some sort of weapon. You seem to be carrying nothing."

"I've trained to become the best martial artist in the world. I've fought a lot worse than that demon."

"I still don't see how your fists could penetrate the demon's thick skin."

            Ranma walked over to the closest tree he could find. It was fairly thick, and would take a while fore someone to chop it down. He then punched the tree, causing it to blow a hole strait through and out the other end.

"Simple strength. I can also use my ki to make myself stronger also." Ranma said, facing Kikyou once more.

            Kikyou didn't flinch at all. She was startled, but that was all. There was no reason really, as to why a human can't beat a demon in unarmed combat. It just wasn't done very often.

"Where are the remains of the demon? Did they dispose of it this quickly? I didn't see any blood anywhere." Kikyou asked. She knew, that without a doubt, Ranma was more powerful than he seemed.

"There wasn't anything left but the ashes. I blasted that sucker!" Ranma said, lifting up one hand and blasting away the remains of the tree he had just punched. Chunks of wood flew everywhere and the wind picked up a little bit.

"That…is interesting." Kikyou said, mostly to her self. 

'Maybe letting Ranma follow me around, will be more of a benefit than an annoyance. He certainly is an interesting person if he would risk his own life for someone he had just met.'

"That? Not really…" Ranma said, scratching the back of his head.

'A descent conversation for once, and not just a one sided one!'

"That's all I can think of for now. Shall we return to the village?"

"Sure… but how long are we going to stay? I really need to find a shard of the shikon jewel thingy." Ranma said, walking towards the village, Kikyou right next to him. 

"We will leave in the morning. Is that soon enough?" Kikyou said, looking at her new traveling companion. 

"Yeah! That's great!" Ranma said, excitedly. 

'I hope she opens up more now. It was getting boring talking to a brick wall.'

            The next morning, Ranma and Kikyou left down the dirt path that they had followed before coming to the town. They were both silent. Both Ranma and Kikyou liked the current silence. It held understanding. They now had a common understanding of each other. Ranma knew that Kikyou liked the silence, so would try to keep quiet. Try as long as he could anyway. Kikyou knew that Ranma liked to talk, so she would try her best to talk back. Unless he was being an idiot, then she would ignore him. Then Ranma broke the silence with a simple question.

"So…where are we going?"

"I don't know." Kikyou answered in her usual tone of voice.

"Really? I thought that you knew your way around here!" 

"My knowledge of this area is limited."

"Huh?" Ranma said, intelligently.

"It has been a while since I last traveled here, so I don't remember much."

"Oh." Ranma said in understanding.

            Silence. Again there was silence. Ranma just walked next to Kikyou, taking in the sights. Ranma stayed silent this whole time. He really didn't know what to say. Then he remembered the soul collectors he saw the first time he met Kikyou.

"Hey, I got a question." Ranma said, folding his arms.

"What is it?"

"Those soul collector things. What do you use them for?"

"To collect souls." Kikyou stated bluntly.

"Why? Why would you need souls?"

"I only have part of my soul. And because of this, my body needs something to fill the gap. That is why I passed out when fighting the demon. I ran out of souls."

"Really…how long do those souls last?"

"Depends on how much energy I use up."

"Oh… What will happen if you run out of souls for too long?" Ranma asked, guessing the answer.

"I will die."

"Oh…" Ranma responded, not knowing how to respond.

Silence…Silence…Silence.

"Wanna sing a song?" Ranma asked. He may not sing, because he thought it was feminine, but he didn't really care right now. He was bored…that, and he was sure that Kikyou had a good singing voice, and he wanted to here it. 

"No."

"Aw, c'mon." 

"No." Kikyou was getting annoyed again.

"Please. I wanna here you sing…that didn't come out right…well…" Ranma said, trying to find the right words without embarrassing himself. 

"No." Kikyou said, somewhat startled by what Ranma said.

'I wanna here you sing? What's he talking about?'

"C'mon, Kikyou." Ranma begged again.

"…"

"Kikyou?" Ranma asked.

"…"

"Are you ignoring me again?"

"…"

"Aw c'mon…you don't have to sing if you don't want to!" Ranma said, throwing his hands into the air.

"…"

"Aw man! Not again!" 

'Kikyou one. Me zero.' 

They walked in silence until nightfall came. 

"We should make camp here." Kikyou said, breaking the silence.

"Sure…Hey! You talked!" Ranma practically yelled.

"Yes. What's your point?"

"Aren't you mad at me or something?" 

"No. You were just annoying me."

"Oh…"

            Then the soul collectors came. They seemed to appear out of nowhere. They probably did actually. 

"How come they're coming out now?"

"They are almost always with me when I'm not in a town. They usually show up when I sleep, to protect me."

"Always?"

"No. Just when I don't need souls for a while."

"Ah…. okay."

            Ranma then spotted the one that he saw the day he met Kikyou. Just now it seemed to be snuggling up against him instead of trying to bite its head off.

"Uh…what's it doing?"

"They must not see you as a threat anymore. Maybe they saw you save me… that one…" She said, pointing to the soul collector that was currently snuggling Ranma. It was a bit smaller than the other for some reason. "Seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Cool! I'll name it D-chan!" Ranma yelled.

"What?" Kikyou asked, her eye, almost twitching.

"D for demon and chan for cute. Some one I know named her pig P-chan. I'm just following her example."

"Do what you want with it…" Kikyou said, turning away to go find a place to sleep. She then turned around and smiled. "It's yours." She once again turned away.

"Hey thanks!" Ranma almost yelled.

'My first pet…Wait a sec., did she just smile?' 

            D-chan looked at Ranma for a few seconds then started to snuggle against him once again. 

"*Sigh* I'll never get him." Kikyou said to her self before lying down to sleep.

'He's not so bad…He just talks too much.' 


	5. Meetings and soon leavings I'm out of id...

Chapter 5

            Kagome's head popped up from the well and she threw her backpack up so she could climb out easier. The second she reached the top a certain fox demon attached itself to Kagome's leg.

"Kagome! Your back! I missed you so much! And so did Inuyasha even though he won't admit it…Ouch!" Shippo yelled, as Inuyasha hit him over the head.

"Don't hit Shippo Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.

"Ya gotta show him who's boss." Inuyasha said, holding his hands up in a 'I could care less' kind of way.

"…Never mind… this isn't going anywhere. Listen Inuyasha! A few days ago there was a boy in my class who had a shikon shard!"

"Did you get it from him?" Inuyasha asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No…"

"WHY NOT! YA STUPID WENCH!"

"SIT!" Kagome said the magic word, and Inuyasha was now eating dirt.

"I didn't get it because he wouldn't give it to me. He was really strong so I couldn't just take it from him either."

"I'll deal with him then." Inuyasha said, relocating his left arm.

"But here's the thing. I found out that he's the son of this woman that lives in my city. She stops by our shrine often. She's a friend of the family and…"

"GET TO THE POINT"

"…He's missing. She's a wreck about it now too. She doesn't think he ran from home because he'd tell her…"

"He'd tell her that he's running away from home?"

"That's what she said…but that's not the point. The point is that he has a shard and we need to find him."

"Can't you just sense where he is? He does have a shard I mean."

"That's the weird thing. I can't sense him at all. He must be very far away. Or something weird must have happened. And according to Aunty Saotome…weird things happen a lot. Did you know he has three fiancés?"

"How'd he manage that?"

"I have no Idea."

            At this moment Mirouku and Sango showed up from different areas of the forest.

"Kagome's back." Mirouku said to no one in general.

"You haven't showed up in over a week. We were starting to get worried Kagome." Sango said in her usual clothes. Not her uniform.

"I have to go to school every now and again. I don't want to fail."

"I still say that you should just flunk a year." Mirouku said, rubbing his chin.

"Shu…shut up!" Kagome said, her eye twitching.

"Well anyway. There has been some 'odd' demon sightings just to the east of hear. In the town of Koshi." 

"Is there a shard involved?"

"I don't know but I think we should check it out."

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Inuyasha said, walking towards the town that was mentioned. 

"Lets go…I guess." Kagome said following Inuyasha, everyone else tagging behind. 

"Let's go D-chan!" Ranma said with excitement. He really loved that demon. Why? Even he didn't know.

"Can you please, just stay silent?" Kikyou asked, quite annoyed.

"I'm just glad that you're talking regularly now! You used to be silent all the time when we first met. I guess you were just shy." Ranma said, D-chan wrapped around his shoulders. 

"I wasn't shy. I like the silence." Kikyou said calmly.

"Sure Kikyou. Whatever ya say." Ranma said sarcastically.

" *Sigh* Lets just go to Koshi and get this over with."

"Okay! Ya know it's funny. I thought you were a healer. I didn't know that you fought demons for a living too." Ranma said, walking down the path that the sign said to point to.

"I'm not. Ever since you started traveling with me people have started asking us to slay demons."

"Oh… That's because I'm the best! Right D-chan!" Ranma said, as D-chan nodded.

"Pride cometh before the fall Ranma."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"No, really. What do ya mean?"

"I mean that if you're too prideful you will get cocky. That will get you killed someday."

"Oh…"

            It's been almost a week since Ranma first traveled to feudal Japan. He still hasn't found a Shikon Shard so he's basically stuck there. Kikyou Is still her emotionless self, but she's starting to actually talk to Ranma when he asks questions, though when he acts really stupid she'll ignore him and act as if he were never there.

            Ranma had started to get pretty popular as a demon slayer, a demon slayer who asks for food instead of money. Considering the fact that he had only gotten to feudal Japan a little less than a week ago, that's pretty good.

However, Part of his popularity is due to Kikyou's healing abilities. He slays the demons and she heals the victims. They're a pretty good combination really. To bad Ranma annoys the souls right out of Kikyou. Though she had gotten used to it, She wished he would just shut up and give her some peace and quiet.

"Were almost there right? I'm kind of hungry." Ranma said, patting his stomach.

"Yes were almost there, and you're always hungry." Kikyou said, looking at him for a bit then turning her view to where she was headed once again.

"That's because I burn a lot of energy. I gotta eat if I wanna stay strong."

"Over eating is unhealthy too you know."

"Impossible."

"…"

"What?"

"…"

"C'mon."

"…"

"Not again!"

            About half an hour later, they arrived at the town. It turns out that there has been a demon terrorizing the town every night. So they would have to wait until night until it came back.

"Tell me more about this demon." Kikyou wanted to know all she could. Ranma may go into a battle without knowing the dangers but she liked to have knowledge before hand.

"It's like a giant bear. It's slow, but very powerful. We tried hitting it with spears and arrows, but nothing penetrates its tough skin!"

"I see."

'Ranma's Mouko-takabisha should be able to penetrate, and if worse come to worse, I could use one of 'my' arrows' 

"Tough skin's nothing!" Ranma said, his ego flying through the roof. "There is this guy I know, he repeatedly got hit by boulders causing his endurance to sky rocket. Now _that_ was a hard fight."

"Right… We will take care of the nuisance." Kikyou said, bowing.

"Thank you Miss Kikyou! Thank you!" The man yelled bowing repeatedly.

"Now about that food…" Ranma began.

"Oh, yes. We will prepare a feast for you and lady Kikyou once you destroy this monster."

"Alright!" Ranma said, giving the victory sign. D-chan just flew around happily.

"Lady Kikyou, I just have one question."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Why is there a demon in your group?"

"It is Ranma's pet. He has named it D-chan."

"Oh."

            Time passed and nighttime fell. As usual, a crash was heard and Ranma came running out of whichever house or hut he was in to face off against the monster or demon that he had to fight. 

"Let's get started." Ranma jumped up in the air and fired a small Mouko-takabisha at the bear like demons arm. The arm just reattached itself a second later.

"Ranma! It's got a shard! It's attached to the demon's forehead!"

            And sure enough, there was a shard attached to the demons forehead.

"Easy enough!" Ranma rushed up and was about to tear the shard off of the beast's head but before he could get close it shot flames out of its mouth. Ranma flipped out of the way and tried again. This had the same affect as the last attempt.

'How the heck am I supposed to get near it? I don't want to destroy the shard.'

"Mouko-takabisha!" Ranma fired another blast, this time at the bear demon's gut. Gut in question was now disintegrated, but it soon regenerated.

'Damn.'

"Any suggestions Kikyou?"

"Don't get hit."

"I KNOW THAT!"

            Ranma again ran up to the demon, ducking the flames that came from the demon's mouth. He then uppercut the demon under the jaw, causing this mouth to shut and the flames stopped. A split second later the shard fragment was off the demons head and in Ranma's hand. Ranma then disintegrated it with another Mouko-takabisha and the fight was over.

Kikyou ran over to where Ranma was but tripped. Ranma caught her and stood her up strait. Ranma was just about to ask if she were okay when a yellow energy came traveling towards Ranma at an alarming rate. Ranma flipped over it and looked at his attacker.

"Who the hell are you and what are ya doing with Kikyou!"

"Ranma Saotome. Now who are you?" Ranma said taking a fighting stance.

"Inuyasha, now never touch her again!" Inuyasha came dashing forward expecting to get a quick kill. Ranma jumped over Inuyasha and delivered a kick to his head, but was blocked by the Tetsusaiga.

            Kikyou stood on the sidelines. She didn't know if she should stop the fight or let it go on.  That's when she saw Kagome and the others run up. She'd let it go on for now.

            Kagome couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ranma had somehow gotten to feudal Japan without her knowing it. He had to have gone down the well, but she would have sensed him. But more importantly she had to break the fight up between Ranma and Inuyasha. She didn't want Ranma to die. 

"Stop it you guys! There's no reason to fight!"

            Inuyasha landed a few feet away from Kagome then glanced her way for a short while.

"No way Kagome. I'm gonna kill this bastard right here, right now!" He then jumped back into the fight.

            Ranma, noticing Kagome for the first time stopped for a few seconds so he could talk to his classmate. 

"Oh, hi Kagome. I got my shard stolen and had to *dodge* get another one. *Dodge* Found another one though! *Dodge* By the way, Kikyou looks just like *Dodge* you! Can't talk now. Gotta fight! *Dodge*

"Quit moving!" Inuyasha yelled, getting very frustrated at the fact that he can't hit a regular human. "Damn human! Fight me with out the shard! Cheater!" This was a mistake.

"Wait a sec. Kikyou hold the shard for me!" Ranma ran up to Kikyou and handed her the shard. "Now lets fight!"

            Kagome was once again surprised. Ranma was willing to fight Inuyasha without the power of the jewel shard. He must know something that she didn't.

"So you're going to fight me for real now." Inuyasha said, holding his sword out in front of him.

"Shut up and start fighting" Ranma said getting into a fighting stance once again.

"*Snort* Fine!" 

            Inuyasha took a slice at Ranma. Ranma jumped back to dodge then dashed forward knocking the sword out of his hands and out of the way.

"I bet your weak with out you sword aren't ya?" This earned him a punch in the face knocking him a few feet back. Ranma got up and brushed himself off. "Guess not."

            They rushed towards each other at full speed. Inuyasha was surprised to see a human move so quickly. They met at the middle, Inuyasha full swing going all out, Ranma dodging every strike or blow Inuyasha could dish out. Ranma finally found an opening and uppercut Inuyasha in the same fashion he uppercut the bear demon. Just this time Inuyasha went flying into the air. 

"Mouko-takabisha!" Inuyasha could not block the blast in time and was knocked even further into the air. He finally hit the ground unconscious.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. Running to her friend's aid.

"Did you kill him Ranma?" Kikyou asked, handing Ranma the shikon shard.

"Nah. I didn't kill him. I could tell that Kagome liked him so I held back on the Mouko-takabisha's power."

"I am surprised that you were able to defeat Inuyasha."

"He underestimated me. I might have been able to beat him anyway, but…I would have had a way harder time doing it. It would have taken a whole lot more than one uppercut and a Mouko-takabisha, that's for sure."

"I see."

"And he may be powerful. I'll give him that, but his skill is lacking. He fights just like this guy I know back home. Ryoga Hibiki. Even he has some skill. Inuyasha's a skilled street fighter. He's just not used to fighting a martial artist. If that makes any sense to you."

"I…see. I always thought Inuyasha was a great fighter."

"He is. If it weren't for the fact that he underestimated me I would have been way harder pressed to beat him. I just have pure martial arts skill. I'm just as fast as he is but he's a tad bit stronger than me. It's my skill in the martial arts that separates me from him."

"So. Are you going back to your own time now? You have what you were looking for."

"I guess so… The weird thing is. I really don't want to go back. I do, but I don't…"

"That makes no sense."

"I know…I'm going to talk to Kagome and find out what's going on." Ranma said, walking off with D-chan following right behind him.

"Okay. I'll be in the hut if you need me." Kikyou then left. She really didn't want to be near Kagome.

"Okay Kagome. What the heck's going on? One minute I'm trying to keep my friend from falling the next thing I know I'm being attacked by Mr. Dog demon here." Ranma said pointing at the unconscious form that is Inuyasha. 

"First I want ask you something..."

"I came through the wardrobe."

"*Blink blink* that wasn't what I was going to ask but that explains how you got hear without using the well…I think… I want to know why that demon is following you around. It looks like one of Kikyou's soul collectors."

"It is one of Kikyou's soul collectors. Its name is D-chan. She gave it to me."

"You know Kikyou. Yeah… You look just like her. She's the friend I was trying to keep from falling down."

"Ah, I see now. Kikyou is Inuyasha's old girlfriend brought back to life and he gets really jealous. I'm her reincarnation you know. I'm so glad that there's someone from my own time that knows about this place. Now I'm not alone and…what?"

 "*Blink blink* I think I got all that. So he attacked me because he was jealous?"

"Yep!"

"Oh."

"By the way. Your mother has been worried sick! She didn't know where you were. She's a wreck!"

"I lost the shard. I found a new one though…"

"Well, you have to get back to your own time!"

"Fine… Were pretty close to the well. I'll jump in first thing in the morning."

"That's good…but you seem so depressed."

"I guess I just don't want to go back. I liked traveling with Kikyou."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She ignored me a lot, but not too long ago we started to get along."

"Oh. I don't know her that well."

"That's understandable. She hardly ever talks. See ya later Kagome. Tell him that if he ever wants a rematch. I'm ready any time."  Ranma and D-chan then headed off to the hut they were staying in. He had a lot on his mind.

To be continued… 

AN. Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I have been really busy.

And sorry if this chapter isn't so good. It's kind of rushed and I'm just getting back into sink.

Tell me how ya like it. Ranma finally met Inuyasha. And friendship is blossoming ^_^


	6. Back home

                                                                                     Chapter 6

            Ranma poked his head up from out of the well and climbed out, and D-chan came flying out afterwards. He decided to travel through the well instead of the wardrobe due to the fact that the well was closer. 

He stood, staring at the well for a few moments before deciding to go home. He walked slowly through the grounds of the shrine that were Kagome's home. He had never been there before and didn't know what to say if some one from the shrine saw him. So he just walked slowly and quietly. Quietly because of his training in the art, slowly because Ranma felt like he had lost something, or left it behind in feudal Japan. But that couldn't be. All he had with him was the shard and D-chan. There was nothing else he could be missing. Right?

            Ranma took a deep breath and sighed. He was somewhat glad that he was home. After all, he did miss his mother, and he didn't want to worry her. Ranma loved his mother, and always wanted to make her happy. He felt horrible when he lied to her about being Ranko Tendo, Akane's cousin. He finally had a parent that loved him and would do anything for him. But even though he was glad to be home. Part of him wasn't there. Part of him was in feudal Japan. 

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So, Ranma. You are leaving now?" Kikyou asked. It really wasn't a question. 

            Ranma took a while to get his answer out. All of a sudden his throat had dried up and it had become hard for him to speak. D-chan of course, was coiled around Ranma's shoulders, and could feel the difference between the laidback Ranma and this Ranma, that was so tense he could be passed off as a statue.

"Yeah. I think I should get home…Kagome said that my mother was really worried…and I don't think I should make her wait any longer." He hesitated after every sentence to find the right words.

            Kikyou hesitated as well. Unlike Ranma though, she was still as calm and graceful as ever. She just wanted to choose her words wisely. Though she would never admit it. She had somewhat enjoyed Ranma's company. It was better than being alone.

"I see… It has been nice knowing you Ranma Saotome. Goodbye." Kikyou said bowing. And as soon as the bow was over with, she walked off. She did not want this goodbye to drag out any longer than it had to. She might start to miss him.

"Goodbye…Kikyou." Ranma said, hesitantly. Then jumped into the well. Was it really good-bye? Would he really never see her again? Even if he did decide to go back to feudal Japan, what were his chances of finding her again? 

            These were Ranma's last thoughts as he traveled through the well that would take him back to his own time.

            Kikyou walked through the forest towards nowhere in general. This time was different however. Even though this was no different than how she usually lived her life. This time she felt truly and utterly, alone.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

            Ranma found his way to the shrine steps. He was practically home free. No one had spotted him yet. Ranma sighed once more before deciding to walk his first step down the ridiculously long stairway. To bad he was spotted before he could actually take his next step.

"Wait young man! Did you know that there is a demon resting on your shoulders?" Kagome's grandfather asked, getting his spirit wards ready.

            Ranma turned to face the old man. He was going to reply with some cocky remark like 'gee…ya think?' or something along those lines, but decided against it. A), he just wasn't in the mood, and B), his mother said that these people are friends of the family. And unlike the Tendos, a nice caring family that wouldn't try to force him into marrying anyone. There was also a young boy with him. Ranma assumed that this boy was Kagome's brother.

"Yeah. It's my pet. His name is D-chan." Ranma said, having the feeling that he was about to go into story mode.

"You must be careful of that one. It might try to steal your soul!" The old man said, throwing his arms up into the air for extra emphasis. Ranma smiled.

"Yeah, I know. The person who gave this to me used it to collect souls to sustain her life. She had a lot, so let this one stay with me." Ranma said, patting D-chan's head.

"Cool! Can I pet it?" The young boy asked with excitement in his eyes. Ranma looked at D-chan for a few seconds, and D-chan nodded happily.

"Sure."

"Cool!" The boy yelled, running up to Ranma. D-chan lowered himself from Ranma's shoulders and floated above the ground so that the boy could actually reach him. D-chan seemed to be enjoying himself as the boy excitedly pet the soul-collecting demon.

            Mr. Higurasi edged up to Ranma. Trying to stay clear of the demon. Inuyasha was one thing; he was at least half human. But a soul collector was something entirely different. When he got close enough to Ranma he finally decided to speak.

"He won't hurt Sota will he?" Mr. Higurasi asked, slightly worried.

"Nah, he won't hurt him. He's a good little demon."

"…Right. I have two questions though. Who are you? And what are you doing here? We rarely get visitors and its even more rare for them to bring demons." The old man asked. They were good questions actually. If someone was bringing demons into your home, I bet you would be a bit curious too.

"I'm Ranma Saotome, and I just came from feudal Japan." Ranma answered truthfully. He didn't feel like coming up with a good lie. He was a terrible liar anyway. 

"Ah, I see now. You came from the well…did you say Saotome?" The old man asked. He was somewhat happy to meet the legendary son of Nodoka Saotome. The son she had talked so much about, and the son that had gone missing.

"Yes. Sorry 'bout this." Ranma said, giving a deep bow.

"That explains where you were! Your mother is worried sick about you. You should hurry home!" The man said, frantically waving his hands in the air.

"I was just on my way home actually." Ranma said, scratching the back of his neck. He was hopping that he could just hurry things up and get out of there.

"Then we shouldn't keep you! Drop by any time. I'm sure Kagome would be happy to have visitors!" The man said, with his hands behind his back.

"Right…Come on D-chan!" Ranma said, as he ran down the steps of the shrine, D-chan chasing after him.

"Next time ya come over bring D-chan too, okay!" Sota yelled down the steps. He seems to have forgotten all about poor Buyo.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

            Else where in feudal Japan, our favorite half demon begins to wake up with a splitting headache. He notices that he's in a small clearing in a hut, and that Kagome, Sango, Shippo, and Mirouku are looming over him with worried looks on their faces…some of their faces anyway.

"What hit me?" Inuyasha asked rubbing his head.

"This human shot this weird light at you Inuyasha, and it hit you really hard!" Shippo said, waving his hands in the air, jumping up and down. 

"What!!! That human…beat me? Ranma beat me? THIS CAN'T BE!" Inuyasha yelled, hitting the ground at the end of his last sentence, a look of pure rage on his face. A human has beaten the mighty Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha it's not the end of the world…" Kagome began. She never got to finish her thought though.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!" Inuyasha yelled at the top of his lungs. This caused Kagome to fall backwards from the sudden outburst.

"THAT LOUSY GOOD FOR NOTHING HUMAN BEAT ME! I LOST TO A HUMAN KAGOME, _A __HUMAN_! HE WASN'T EVEN USING A SHARD!" Inuyasha continued.

"But Inuyasha you don't understand. I've heard stories from his mother. He killed a god not too long ago! At first I thought she was blowing things out of proportion or that he was using the power of a shard, but he wasn't. His dad took him on a ten year long training trip ever since he could walk!"

"So that's the guy you were talking about earlier?" Inuyasha asked, still pretty ticked.

"Yeah. I had no idea how he got here though. He said something about a wardrobe..." Kagome said, placing a finger on her chin, to act as if she were in deep thought.

"What the hell was he doing with Kikyou though? That's what I wanna know!" Inuyasha began yelling once again.

"Perhaps He got lost and ran into her, so he started traveling with her." Mirouku said, trying to keep the situation under control.

"*Snort* I need some fresh air. I'll be back later." Inuyasha said, leaving the hut.

            Inuyasha started walking at a somewhat fast pace once he left the hut. He was angry, very angry. He felt so weak. Inuyasha, who has demon blood coursing through his veins, has lost to a regular human. He could care less how much Ranma trained, he still shouldn't have been able to beat Inuyasha. It was unthinkable.

            Inuyasha started to walk outside of the town, and into the small forest next to it. If there were any demons close by, they knew enough to stay away from him when he was like this. He was in a complete rage. He was pacing back and forth at a rapid race, breathing deeply and heavily. He was stepping so hard; footprints were being left in the dirt.

'How could this have happened to me! How! Am I useless? AM I!'

"RANMA SAOTOME! I'LL KILL YOU!" Inuyasha yelled, punching through a tree, causing it to brake into splinters at his feet.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

            Ranma finally came to his mother's house. His house. Was it really his house? He lived there, but something wasn't right. Ranma knocked on the door, and waited for someone to answer. What he saw surprised him to say the least.

            His mother had answered the door, and she was a total wreck. She had bags under her eyes, Her hair had split ends, she walked sluggishly, and she looked as if she had been crying. As soon as she answered the door and saw Ranma standing out side waiting for her, She ran right up to him and gave her son the biggest hug she could muster up with the little strength she had left. She hadn't slept well lately.

"Ranma, where were you! I thought you were hurt or even killed! No one could find you! You would tell me if you were going to run away right? Right?" She said between choked sobs. Ranma just put his arms around his mother. Kagome said that she was a wreck. He didn't know it was this bad.

"I'm okay mom. That shard you got me…it really is magic…it sent me to feudal Japan. It turns out that the wardrobe in my room is made out of something called the time tree or something like that." Ranma said, trying to choose his words very carefully.

"The wardrobe? Your father and I got that from the Higurasi family as a wedding gift." She looked up noticing D-chan for the first time. Nights without sleep and the shock of seeing a real demon next to her son had caught up with her and she fainted, but not before muttering a quick "Oh my…"

            Ranma picked his mother up and put her on the couch. He then took a bath and got into some cleaner clothes. He went back into the living room and began to wait for his mother to wake up.

"She took that better than I thought she would. Right D-chan?" Ranma said looking at his pet demon. D-chan nodded in agreement.

            A little while later Nodoka Saotome finally woke up. The site of D-chan looking right into her face greeted her. This caused her to scream… Loudly.

"Ranma! What is that thing?" Nodoka asked, edging away from the creature in front of her. Which was hard, since she was still on the couch.

"It's my pet! His name is D-chan. Don't worry he won't hurt ya." Ranma said, leaning up against the wall.

"Are you sure?" Nodoka said, calming down a little bit.

"Yeah. You can pet him if you want." And as if on cue, D-chan poked his head out to let Nodoka pet it. She pet it for a little while, happy that it wasn't going to attack her then went back to questioning Ranma.

"Now what's this about feudal Japan?" Nodoka asked.

"Well you see… It's like this. The shard you gave me…"

"The piece of glass?" Nodoka interrupted.

"Yeah. It's part of something called the Jewel of four souls, and the wardrobe is made from the wood of the 'time tree'. Combined with the wardrobe and the jewel shard, I was able to travel to feudal Japan. I found out that Kagome goes there all the time, actually." Ranma put in as an after thought.

"I was wondering where she was my last few visits before you began to live with me? Oh yes, I forgot. Why didn't you just come through the wardrobe again?" Nodoka asked, wanting a really good answer.

"That is simple. The shard was taken by a wasp demon thing, and I had to find another one to get back. I met this girl named Kikyou, she's the one who gave me D-chan, and we traveled together for a while before I found the new shard…" Ranma said, realizing that he should have left that part out at the last second.

            Nodoka's eyes seemed to go from the sleep deprived baggy eyes to the shinny glimmering eyes of a teenage girl who just got asked out by the most popular guy in school. She clasped her hands together and Ranma could have sworn that a tear rolled down her cheek.

"My son is so manly!" Nodoka squealed. "When are you going to introduce me to your new girl friend Ranma? You should invite her to dinner one of these days!" Nodoka said, practically dancing around the room.

"Uh…mom…she lives in feudal Japan. I don't think she'd want to come to the future or anything like that. Besides, I'll probably never meet her again anyway." Ranma said, his usual cheerful tone dropping a bit. 

"Why not?" Nodoka asked, going out of 'my son is so manly' mode.

"We only traveled with each other until I found a shard. I found one, so she left." Ranma said, sitting down in a chair across from his mother.

"Oh. Well you can go back to feudal Japan anytime right? If you ever see her again, invite her over."

"Sure…I'm going to go upstairs for a little while…I'm kind of tired." Ranma said, heading up the stairs, D-chan following him.

"I understand." Nodoka said, 'understanding' all too well.

            Ranma was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He knew he was only going to stay with her for a short time, but he wished it had been longer. She had been a good friend. At least Ranma thought so. Though she sometimes ignored him, she was still there, traveling with him, like what he and his dad had done. She hadn't hit him when he did something stupid, and there was just something about her that he respected. He couldn't place his finger on it, but it was there.

"D-chan, you can find Kikyou any time you want, right?" Ranma asked. The demon nodded in the affirmative. 

"Good. It's still early, isn't it?" Ranma asked. Again D-chan nodded in the affirmative.

            That's what Ranma liked about D-chan. It understood the human language. It wasn't like a pet that learned certain commands and responded to them. D-chan could actually understand what Ranma was saying. And sometimes when D-chan made the right movements, Ranma could understand what he was saying too. It also helped that it could draw pictures in the dirt for really hard things to say. Sure could beat Lassie any day.

"I missed so much school. Not that I care, but It's already the weekend." Ranma said, sitting up. D-chan cocked his head to the right. As if asking what school was.

"School is where I go to learn stuff. It's boring but I have to go. They don't allow pets though." This caused D-chan to droop his head.

"Don't worry man, that gives you a chance to get to know mom." This perked D-chan up.

            Ranma lie back down on his bed again. Ranma stared off into nothing for a short while then sighed. He stretched a little bit then got up again.

"I'm _so_ bored D-chan! I wonder what Kikyou's doin' " Ranma said, before heading back down the stairs.   

To be continued.

AN: Inuyasha officially hates Ranma. People are starting to be weary of D-chan. And Ranma is BORED! 

What could this all mean?! …

…

…

…

… … … … This is really going to bug me until I right the next chapter ^_^


	7. I'm back!

Chapter 7  
  
Ranma picked up his backpack and flung it over his left shoulder. He then adjusted his collar with his free hand. Ranma still wasn't used to wearing his school uniform. It still felt too constricting. Ranma walked out the door to his room and proceeded down the steps to the living room that would soon lead to the kitchen. It was his first school day since arriving back at his own time, and his mother wanted him to look his best.  
  
Ranma then sat in his usual spot at the kitchen table and rested his chin in his hand, slightly hunching over. His backpack soon began to annoy him so he took it off of his shoulder and dropped it. It made a dull thud as it hit the ground.   
  
That's when Nodoka and D-chan entered the room. Nodoka had woken up early to work on her garden and D-chan decided to keep her company. Though she was still a bit weary of D-chan. She had gotten somewhat used to the soul collector and didn't mind its company.   
  
"Looking forward to school, Ranma?" Nodoka asked, walking over to the kitchen counter getting ready to prepare breakfast.  
  
Ranma just looked at her with a stupid look on his face. He was still a bit tired and his collar was beginning to really bug him. He felt like ripping the stupid thing off and go collarless. Then he started to process what she said. His face took on a more intelligent look, but only a little.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Ranma lied. He actually just wanted to go out and beat something up. Where was Ryouga when you needed him? Where were his father's morning workouts? He wanted to fight more demons damn it!  
  
"That's nice dear." Nodoka said in a motherly tone. She really loved playing the part and making up for lost time. "By the way. Hojo called while you were still asleep. He wanted to walk to school with you today. Isn't it nice to be making new friends?"  
  
"Wait a sec… Why?" Ranma asked. He really didn't know Hojo too well.   
  
"Because he's your friend Ranma." Nodoka said, putting down the plates on the kitchen table. The eggs were almost ready. She didn't have time to make much of anything else, but wanted him to have a warm breakfast.  
  
"When does that guy wake up anyway? I got up at seven fifteen." Ranma said with an annoyed expression on his face.  
  
"He usually gets up at six on the dot. Why?" Nodoka asked piling food onto Ranma's plate.  
  
"Seems kind of early. And I thought _I_ got up early." Ranma said, picking at his food.  
  
At this moment the doorbell rang, telling Ranma that Hojo has arrived. He finished his food in record braking time and left for the door.  
  
"Ranma can you pick up some rice on your way home? I'm all out." Nodoka asked, getting up from where she was sitting to clear away the table.  
  
"Sure, see ya!" Ranma yelled as he left for school.  
  
Nodoka finished with the dishes and returned to sitting at the table. She sat there thinking for a few minutes then looked over to D-chan whom was resting on the table.  
  
"Do you think this will last?" Nodoka asked. D-chan lifted his head off the table cocking his head to one side.  
  
"I don't think so either…" Nodoka said, resting her chin in her hands.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
"So Ranma, You over the flu. I would have visited but your mother wouldn't let me in." Hojo said on the way to school. "You know it's funny. You got sick around the same time as Kagome. She got sick a few days after you did…" Hojo said, in deep thought.  
  
"Huh? I was…oh yeah. Sorry. I was sleeping most of the time so my minds a little off right now. Yeah I'm better now, thanks for asking." Ranma said, faking a smile.   
  
'Couldn't ya have told me about your excuse mom?!'   
  
"Well anyway Ranma. I heard that you know Kagome. Is that true? Anything you could tell me about her. I tried asking her out a few times but…something always came up." Hojo said drooping his head a bit.  
  
"Sorry man. I don't know that much about her. Just met her actually. My mom knows her though…" Ranma said, scratching the back of his head.   
  
'Man, he's got it bad!'  
  
"Oh…Anyway. Wan to hang out after school. I just realized that I don't know you too well."  
  
Ranma almost face faulted. This guy was slow, very slow. He was just now realizing that they just met not too long ago and hasn't talked to each other since.   
  
"Sorry again man. Gotta go out and buy some rice for my mom…maybe some other time." Ranma said. Giving an apologetic look. He really did feel bad. Hojo seemed nice enough.  
  
"Ah, that's okay. I understand. You got a really nice mother Ranma."  
  
"I know." Ranma said, smiling.   
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Nothing Special really happened at school. Ranma fell asleep during math…and every other subject there was to learn. He also aced P.E. How could he not. Ranma was bored to say the least. Very bored. And now it was time to leave. Too bad he had to go shopping. Ranma hated shopping. But right now he really didn't mind. He felt that he doesn't do enough for his mother. And if buying the rice made things easier, he didn't mind doing it.   
  
Ranma walked towards the market, taking his time. He really didn't mind the peace and quiet, but he still had other things on his mind right now. Like how familiar that bandanna clad boy with the map that just passed him looked right about now. 5…4…3…2…1…  
  
"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!" The boy yelled hurling a red umbrella at Ranma's head. Ranma just ducked and let it pass over him.  
  
"Hey man! Haven't seen ya in a while, how ya doin?!" Ranma asked excitedly. Finally a fun fight and someone he was familiar with.  
  
"Ranma! How could you leave Akane like that? Answer me!" Ryoga yelled. Holding out his hand waiting for his umbrella to return to him. When he did he put it back in his backpack and charged Ranma.  
  
"Simple really. I don't like getting hit." Ranma said, weaving in and out of Ryoga's punches.  
  
"How dare you say that about Akane?!" Ryoga yelled.  
  
"Say what? I just told you that she hits me a lot. Nothing to get mad over." Ranma said, grabbing Ryoga's next punch and throwing him over his shoulder. Ryoga landed and took up a fighting stance.  
  
'How the hell did Ranma get so good? I haven't fought him that much since Saffron…maybe that's it.' Ryouga thought. Which was basically true.  
  
"C'mon, Ryoga! I gotta buy rice for my mom. How about we fight after that. Is that okay?" Ranma asked. Ryoga wasn't as much of a challenge as he thought.  
  
"No! Now!" Ryoga yelled, charging.  
  
"Man! You sound like a little kid!" Ranma yelled, jumping into the air flipping behind Ryoga and hitting him in the back of his head, causing him to go flying.  
  
Though that probably wasn't enough to take Ryoga out, Ranma didn't feel like sticking around. All he wanted to do was buy some rice and go back home. D-chan was probably bored out of his mind and Ranma had things to do. Ranma walked towards the market fingering the shikon shard around his neck.  
  
"Now how much rice does she need? With my appetite probably a lot, four sacks full should be enough!"   
  
Ranma then sprinted in the direction of market.   
  
Ranma walked through the door to his house. One sack of rice balanced on each shoulder and one sack of rice under his arm. It was really quite hard to open the door like that without dropping the rice. He shut the door with his foot and dropped the rice sacks onto the kitchen table, not certain as to where his mother wanted him to put it.  
  
"Mom, I'm home!" Ranma yelled.  
  
Nodoka walked into the kitchen with D-chan wrapped around her shoulders. She really has grown fond of Ranma's pet, especially because he helped her weed the garden.   
  
"Oh…I see you got the rice…" Nodoka said with a surprised tone. She really didn't need that much.  
  
"Yep! Where do you want me to put them?" Ranma said, preparing to lift the sacks again.  
  
"That's okay. I'll move them later. You should get dressed into your normal clothes. I don't want you getting your school uniform dirty." Nodoka said, noticing that her shoulders felt a tad bit lighter. D-chan had already moved to Ranma's shoulders and started rubbing its head against Ranma's face.  
  
"Okay. Call me if ya need anything." Ranma said, running towards the stairs, already unbuttoning his shirt.  
  
Ranma decided to go for a different color this day, so instead of wearing his usual Red shirt, he switched to his blue sleeveless one. He loved the red, but even Ranma felt like switching every now and again.  
  
Ranma went to hang his uniform back up so that it wouldn't get in his way until the next day. He put the clothes on the hangers and hanged it in the wardrobe. Before Ranma shut the door however. He took a long gaze at the wardrobe. He still wondered what would happen if he decided to just go back to feudal Japan. He took a long look and then got a curious look on his face. He put his hand in the wardrobe and pushed against the back. There was a glow and his hand went through. He smiled. Thinking it was pretty cool that he was in his own time, but his hand was in feudal Japan. He then felt a small pain in his hand like someone was hitting it or something.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Back in feudal Japan.  
  
Kaede walked into her hut. She remembered that she had left her broom in the wardrobe for some crazy reason so decided to get it. It was about time she cleaned the place after all.   
  
But what she saw scared her half to death. There was a hand coming out of the wardrobe. It was just there, flexing itself. It obviously wanted to kill her for some odd reason. So she did what anyone would do. Grab her broom and start hitting the evil thing like hell.  
  
"Get back you evil spawn of SATAN!!!!!!!!!" Kaede yelled at the top of her lungs.  
  
………………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
"Ouch!" Ranma yelled, withdrawing his hand from the wardrobe. "What the heck was that?!" Ranma yelled.  
  
Ranma stood there for a few more minutes. He sat on his bed, and then stared at the wardrobe some more. It was almost as if it was calling to him. He loved feudal Japan. Constant battles with demons and adventure, but for some reason it was different than his already hectic life. It was as if he belonged. Or did he love feudal Japan at all. Maybe it was something else calling him there. Ranma wanted to go back.  
  
Ranma proceeded to go down stairs to tell his mother that he planned to go back to feudal Japan. He just hoped that she'd take it well. He didn't want to worry her or upset her. But he just had to go back.  
  
"Mom…could I talk to you?" Ranma asked, twiddling his thumbs a bit. This got Nodoka worried.  
  
"Yes. What is it Ranma?" Nodoka said, straitening up, taking a perfect posture.   
  
"Well. It's about feudal Japan. I…want to go back." Ranma said, tensing up, expecting the worst.   
  
"Really? That's great! Next time you come back, bring that nice Kikyou girl with you that you keep talking about. I really want to meet her!" Nodoka said, cheerfully. "And I thought you were in trouble or something."  
  
"Uh…right…Just thought I'd tell ya. Guess I'll just get going now…c'mon D-chan." Ranma said, shakily. He really didn't expect that answer.  
  
Ranma spent the next ten minutes of his life packing for the trip. Though it was a very small trip. He didn't know how long it would take him to come back. He definitely wanted to find Kikyou. But D-chan said that he could sense Kikyou, so it shouldn't take too long. He also thought about what he'd say. Though Ranma was sure that they formed some kind of friendship, he still wasn't sure what to say to her when he sees her.   
  
'Knowing her, she'll probably just frown and tell me how childish I am, or to do what I want, or something like that.' Ranma grabbed his pack and threw it over his shoulder. He had everything he needed and it was time to go.  
  
"C'mon D-chan!" Ranma said with a weird gleam in his eyes. D-chan nodded and followed Ranma into the wardrobe.   
  
…………………………………………………………………………………………  
  
Back at Kaede's place.  
  
"So you're close to finding a jewel shard are ye?" Kaede asked.  
  
"Yeah. We think it's close by. Maybe in the next town even!" Kagome chimed. She was really enjoying the fact that the next shard was close to the well.   
  
"Feh! Just as long as we keep this one! No more doing favors Kagome!" Inuyasha barked.   
  
"What is Inuyasha's problem today? It's different than usual." Kaede asked. She was used to Inuyasha complaining at everything, but today was a bit different.  
  
"Oh! Some human guy about Kagome's age beat him in a fight! That's why he's so angry. OUCH!" Shippo was cut short. Inuyasha started beating his head in repeatedly.  
  
"Shut up! He took me off guard! I'll beat him this time for sure!" Inuyasha yelled.  
  
"From what Kagome tells me, Inuyasha. This is no ordinary human." Mirouku suggested. Not that it helped or anything. Inuyasha was just too pigheaded.  
  
"It doesn't matter how unordinary the guy is! I'll beat him!" Inuyasha yelled, raising his fists.  
  
"Why's that Inuyasha?" Shippo asked.  
  
"Cause humans are weak!" Inuyasha said, smugly.  
  
"I'm human too Inuyasha, am I weak?" Sango asked, clutching her trusty boomerang.  
  
"Your different. You were trained to fight demon." Inuyasha said, nodding his head.  
  
"Wise answer." Mirouku said with his eyes closed. Shippo nodded.   
  
"If I ever see him again I'll, I'll…kill him!" Inuyasha yelled standing up.  
  
"Hey! I sense a shard!" Kagome squealed.  
  
And at that moment, Ranma came bursting out of the wardrobe. At first it was a very awkward moment. Ranma looked at everyone in the room, and everyone in the room looked at Ranma. Then two people from different time came face to face. At first they looked at each other in confusion. Then they got their bearings strait.   
  
"YOU!" They both yelled pointing at each other.  
  
"Inuyasha. SIT!" Kagome yelled.  
  
Splat!  
  
"Ouch." Ranma cringed. "I feel your pain man. I feel your pain.  
  
To be continued.   
  
  
  
  
  
"So Mr. Higurasi. I should start out with diabeetees and work my way up?" Nodoka asked.  
  
"Yes. Starting a firm foundation that your child is sickly is escential!" Kagome's father said, all knowingly.  
  
"Ah, I see." 


End file.
